I had originally posted that my review for Mugabe would be up the first week of August, but the books shipped late and I got word yesterday that the blog tour has been postponed until next week. So, I have finished reading the book, but my review will be held until then. I will do my best to get it posted on Monday.
Tag Archive | blog tour
Mugabe and the White African: On PBS
One family’s stand for Justice – catch the story on PBS 7/26!
I’ll be blogging about the book Mugabe and the White African
The film tells the story of Mike Campbell and his family of three generations of Zimbabwean farmers as they attempt to keep their farm under Mugabe’s “land reform.” Watch the trailer for the documentary below and visit the PBS Point of View website for your local listing. http://www.pbs.org/pov/tvschedule/
The book Mugabe and the White African
Freeth lays bare a beautiful but lawless land fouled by fear. A ‘Clockwork Orange’ state where racism, greed, and violence are ultimately humbled by almost unimaginable courage. Richly described, bravely chronicled, and utterly compelling.
-Mike Thomson, Radio Foreign Affairs Correspondent, BBC
Ben Freeth has an extraordinary story to tell. Like that of many white farmers, his family’s land was “reclaimed” for redistribution by Mugabe’s government. But Ben’s family fought back. Appealing to international law, they instigated a suit against Mugabe’s government in the SADC, the Southern African equivalent of NATO. The case was deferred time and again while Mugabe’s men pulled strings. But after Freeth and his parents-in-law were abducted and beaten within inches of death in 2008, the SADC deemed any further delay to be an obstruction of justice. The case was heard, and was successful on all counts.
But the story doesn’t end there. In 2009 the family farm was burned to the ground. The fight for justice in Zimbabwe is far from over–this book is for anyone who wants to see into the heart of one of today’s hardest places and how human dignity flourishes even in the most adverse circumstances.
Read an Excerpt (PDF)
Like this:
Blog Tour: Mugabe and the White African
During the first week of August I will be participating in a blog tour for Mugabe and the White African by Ben Freeth. My review will be posted then, and I am anxiously awaiting the book’s arrival in the mail. So anxiously in fact that I’m tempted to watch the PBS premiere of the documentary. I’ve decided to record it and watch it after I’ve reviewed the book, but I did watch the trailer.
This is a short section of the film description from the PBS website:
“The Campbell family of Zimbabwe — Mike Campbell, his wife, Angela, their daughter, Laura, and their son-in-law, Ben Freeth — may have been white people determined to hold on to their farm, but they were not in the mold of colonialists hanging on to land extorted from blacks. They were among the native-born whites who did not flee in 1980 when Zimbabwe, the former Rhodesia, achieved full independence and black majority rule. Embracing the new country, Mike and Angela expanded their small farm that same year, buying additional land to create a game preserve, with the full approval of the newly elected government led by independence fighter Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party.
Twenty years later, the Campbells found themselves in the crosshairs of a brutal land redistribution program enacted by the same Robert Mugabe. Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson’s Mugabe and the White African is an inspiring and chilling account of the Campbells’ efforts to fight the government.”
The documentary airs on PBS on Tuesday, July 26 at 10:00 PM. You can see online from July 27, 2011 to October 25, 2011. And be sure to check back here to read my review.
Book Giveaway Reminder
Just a reminder: the Half the Church book giveaway ends on April 3. You must post a comment on the original post to enter for your chance to win. Make sure to read the rules on that original post.
I’ll be posting my review of the book next week as well.
